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Put the zip code first

zipcodefirst.com

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Re: Put the zip code first

#211

Post by cvoss »

daft_pink wrote: post #203
thfuran wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But addresses aren’t just for sending mail. Location also determines which municipal and state laws apply, so there are contexts where the distinction matters.

I would just like to point out that the city field doesn’t necessarily prove anything because many unincorporated areas have a listed a city but may not be subject to the laws or taxes of a municipality. So having the correct city isn’t as useful as one thinks it is.

I used to live in just such a place. Went to the city center to apply for a library card, thinking "of course I can get a card here, I live in Foo City and this is the Foo City Public Library." I was asked for my street address, and she pulled out a binder of street names to check (yes it was analog, in the year 2016 A.D.). I was not within the city limits and was denied a card.

Re: Put the zip code first

#212

Post by TRiG_Ireland »

vscode-rest wrote: post #192

I wonder if people had a similarly negative reaction when someone first proposed speculative execution in processor pipelines. “This is is a terrible idea, you’re telling me you will make 99% of cases way faster but completely ignore the 1% that will be slightly slower? Unbelievable.” If you have SA that most of your customers are in USA, this is a good idea. If not, maybe use your brain a bit and figure out if it ca…

I'm trying to work out what SA means.

Re: Put the zip code first

#213

Post by TRiG_Ireland »

slartibardfast0 wrote: post #68

This works really well in Ireland. Eircodes (our late adoption postal codes) resolve to individual addresses rather than areas, so Irish sites mostly do this.

You have to be careful with this. Building sites (translate that into American as "houses under construction") may want to order stuff, but won't yet have eircodes. Indeed, I believe that they're issued only twice a year, so new-built houses may not have them either. So you cannot make it a required field.

Re: Put the zip code first

#214

Post by devman0 »

hyperbovine wrote: post #106
bicx wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 1000 times. I’ve tried implementing what OP has mentioned, and quickly learned it isn’t possible. A city can also exist in multiple zip codes. And there can be multiple cities with the same name in the same state. So, to be safe, you have to enter city, state, and zip.

I don’t understand either of these arguments. They both appear to reinforce the point made in the article. At worst a zip code contains multiple cities? Voila the city box becomes a dropdown. It’s 2025. JavaScript.

Even if a zip code contains multiple cities, each ZIP has one "preferred" locality name and you can default to that. Any of the locality names within a zip code is deliverable for all addresses in that zip code.

Re: Put the zip code first

#215

Post by bluGill »

awesome_dude wrote: post #160
fingerlocks wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If asking for the zip first was more common then we quickly learn those four extra digits because the auto fill benefits would be immediately obvious

Why? I have a 4 digit postcode, I have to look it up every time I have to fill in an address form for delivery. I've had people screw 1 digit up in that postcode and their items (a laptop in one case) went to the completely wrong city. A code sounds foolproof, until you realise most people don't engage with them for most of their lives - you don't tell the uber driver the zip/post code you are waiting in, and travell…

Your zip plus 4 changes. It isn't worth trying to know as it isn't supposed to be constlnt. If you send a lot of mail there is a discount for using it but you have to update everyone's address often (iirt at least 4x per year)

Re: Put the zip code first

#216

Post by fsckboy »

there should be one text box with multiple lines and you enter your address the way you would write it on an envelope. works internationally, gets stuff delivered. If the postal service can parse it, so can a website. Typing in your address will go so much faster than having to read the tags and navigate for every piece they are asking for. any redundancy can be used for error checking which is a good idea.

the "fields", like the goggles, they do nothing

Re: Put the zip code first

#218

Post by valicord »

dasil003 wrote: post #58

When you create a site with a tone this self-righteous and condescending, you should really double check your thinking to make sure there is not some glaring flaw invalidating the premise for the majority of people in the world: > A US ZIP code is 5 characters. From those 5 characters you can determine the city, the state, and the country. That's 3 fields. Autofilled. From one input. I guess this is par for the cours…

"You can determine any country as long as that county is USA"

Re: Put the zip code first

#219

Post by bichiliad »

Besides the technical constraints (the zip code can't always tell you the city, etc), the zip code is more of a checksum to make sure the address you typed makes sense. I think you could probably get around the imperfections by making the city / state / zip be things suggested to you, whether in an autocomplete or by making them first in a dropdown. The imperfection of a zip code in encoding a city name doesn't mean that the frustration of filling out addresses isn't a real one!

Re: Put the zip code first

#220

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

hyperbovine wrote: post #106
bicx wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 1000 times. I’ve tried implementing what OP has mentioned, and quickly learned it isn’t possible. A city can also exist in multiple zip codes. And there can be multiple cities with the same name in the same state. So, to be safe, you have to enter city, state, and zip.

I don’t understand either of these arguments. They both appear to reinforce the point made in the article. At worst a zip code contains multiple cities? Voila the city box becomes a dropdown. It’s 2025. JavaScript.

As long it does become a dropdown, fine.

But in TFA's example it does not (my zip has 3 possible city names; TFA's example shows only 1).

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